X. On the next day Lartius and the rest joined the consul.  He ascended a rostrum, and after returning suitable thanks to Heaven for such unexampled successes, turned to Marcius.  First he praised his conduct in the highest terms, having himself witnessed some part of it, and having learned the rest from Lartius.  Next, as there were many prisoners, horses, and other spoil, he bade him, before it was divided, choose a tenth part for himself.  He also presented him with a horse and trappings, as a reward for his bravery.  As all the Romans murmured their approval, Marcius coming forward said that he gladly accepted the horse, and was thankful for the praise which he had received from the consul.  As for the rest, he considered that to be mere pay, not a prize, and refused it, preferring to take his share with the rest.  “One especial favour,” said he, “I do beg of you.  I had a friend among the Volscians, who now is a captive, and from having been a rich and free man has fallen to the condition of a slave.  I wish to relieve him from one of his many misfortunes—­that of losing his liberty and being sold for a slave.”  After these words, Marcius was cheered more than he had been before, and men admired his disinterestedness more than they had admired his bravery.  Even those who grudged him his extraordinary honours now thought that by his unselfishness he had shown himself worthy of them, and admired his courage in refusing such presents more than the courage by which he had won the right to them.  Indeed, the right use of riches is more glorious than that of arms, but not to desire them at all is better even than using them well.

XI.  When the cheering caused by Marcius’s speech had subsided, Cominius said:  “Fellow soldiers, we cannot force a man against his will to receive these presents; but, unless his achievements have already won it for him, let us give him the title of Coriolanus, which he cannot refuse, seeing for what it is bestowed, and let us confirm it by a general vote.”

Hence he obtained the third name of Coriolanus.  From this we may clearly see that his own personal name was Caius, and that Marcius was the common name of his family, while the third name was added afterwards to mark some particular exploit, peculiarity, or virtue in the bearer.  So also did the Greeks in former ages give men names derived from their actions, such as Kallinikus (the Victor), or Soter (the Preserver); or from their appearance, as Fusco (the Fat), or Gripus (the Hook-nosed); or from their virtues, as Euergetes (the Benefactor), or Philadelphus (the Lover of his Brethren), which were names of the Ptolemies:  or from their success, as Eudaemon (the Fortunate), a name given to the second king of the race of Battus.  Some princes have even had names given them in jest, as Antigonus was called Doson (the Promiser), and Ptolemy Lathyrus (the Vetch).

The Romans used this sort of name much more commonly, as for instance they named one of the Metelli Diadematus, or wearer of the diadem, because he walked about for a long time with his head bound up because of a wound in the forehead.